Systems and concepts for signal analysis have existed for many years. The existing systems typically have sensors attached to a device and sensor outputs are interpreted by a processor. This is also the case in analyzing sports equipment, such as a golf club, to determine improvements a player can make to their swing.
A system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,242 to Stites, shows an integrated golf club with acceleration sensors on the shaft and in the club head and communicates wirelessly. The system also discloses a club head with an impact module that may include a strain gage. The system in U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,242 does not teach or suggest an integrated electronic system golf club head that integrates impact sensors into the club head face in combination with acceleration measurement sensors located in the club head and further does not teach an antenna system that utilizes the electrical properties and shape of the club head as an integral component element of the antenna system design to increase power efficiency and further operating time duration based on storage capacity of energy device. The system does not provide for a method of free swing analysis with the ability to relate a measurement time line to a predetermined spatial reference location.
Another example of attaching sensors to a golf club is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,389 to Plutt, who claims a self-contained device for indicating the area of impact on the face of the club and the ball, and a means for an attachable and detachable sensor or sensor array that overlies the face of the club. Plutt's device does not provide for an imbedded impact sensor array in the clubface that functions in conjunction with internal three dimensional g-force sensors to provide a superset of time varying spatial force impact contours of the clubface with club head acceleration force parameters that can be calibrated for highly accurate spatial and force measurement. Plutt's device is susceptible to location inaccuracy due to the removable constraint of the sensors and is susceptible to sensor damage since the sensors come in direct contact with the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,672,781 to Churchill uses receiver signal strength measurements with multiple directional antennas in combination with linear calculation methods based on acceleration measurements to determine the location of a movable bodies that could be a golf club. Churchill fails to contemplate using RSSI measurements without the use of directional sectorized antennas in combination with acceleration measurements analysis applied to a movable object with non-linear travel.
However, these systems fail to teach or suggest a self-contained device or integrated electronic system golf club head comprising the functions and methods of measuring a the entire free swing with the ability to relate the free swing metrics time line to a predetermined spatial location through the use of measuring three orthogonal acceleration axes across time with accelerometer(s) from within the club head and measuring a spatial relationship variable to a predetermined spatial location near or on the swing path by means of receiver signal strength measurements. Further, they do not provide free swing analysis capabilities with impact analysis capabilities facilitated with impact sensors integrated within the club face in a single integrated electronic club head. They also do not provide a convenient recharging mechanism.